Leading Thoughts

What Site Managers Want From Safety Leaders Five Tips for Improving Competence & Solutions

By Doug Gray

What do site managers want to hear from all safety leaders?
"I've got you covered, boss."
"No surprises today, boss."
"I'm here to make you look like a hero, boss."
"I know what you need, boss. Here is what I recommend we do. . ."

Do you see a pattern in these responses from safety leaders? Of course you do. Site managers want to hear your 1) competence and 2) solutions.
After interviewing dozens of site managers, here are their specific suggestions. I encourage you to mark the margins of this article. Then do a better job today.

1. Site managers want to hear your competence. They need regular updates. They need data, the facts, as soon as possible. The best site managers always want the truth. They want talking points, in writing. That is why you were hired.
2. Site managers want to hear solutions. Once we understand and define the problem, we work toward solutions. That is human nature. Thankfully, we are never satisfied with status quo. The site manager wants solutions when you are proactively suggesting a behavior-based or training solution, or an intervention with a contractor. And the site manager wants solutions when you are reactively assessing a root cause or recordable incident. Like any manager, the site manager is always focused on maximizing the productivity of others. When you provide solutions you may want to answer his/her "WIIFM?" questions. In other words, when you provide solutions that address the "What's in it for me" question, then you will be more valuable.

Pause here and reflect on any site manager you have ever met. Reflect on what s/he wanted to hear from you. Then assess how well you shared your competence (rate yourself from 1 to 5). Then assess how well you shared your solutions (rate yourself from 1 to 5). What do you notice?

When we are honest, most of us realize that we can do a better job of sharing our competence and solutions. Here are five specific suggestions you can implement today.

1) Build Trust

Trust occurs when we show our competence. Trust is like a mirror, because it reflects everything we say and do—throughout our careers, on the job site and elsewhere. Trust is also like a window through which we see others and they see us all the time. We can build trust when we say and do something constructive. And we can lose trust in an instant, when we say or do something destructive. So how do you build trust with your site manager? One of my coaching clients, a CSP, invented this formula for building trust:

T = Take the time.
R = Regularly meet.
U = Understand the situation and facts.
S = Share solutions and agree on next actions.
T = Thank the other person.

2) Separate Wants From Needs

One veteran site manager made a distinction between wants and needs. He said, "I want to hear you say, ‘We're doing everything right.' But I need to hear you say what we are actually doing about safety. Give me the data. Give me daily status updates. Talk to me about safety rewards, credit cards, Star programs, blood drives, foreman recognitions for preventive safety actions. Good news can never wait for another day. Bad news never gets better with time."

3) Distinguish Key Metrics

Objective metrics do not change over time. Subjective metrics change depending on variables. Consider your objective metrics, such as number of recordables, number of audits, frequency of audits, lagging indicator rates, supervisor performance reviews, percent of completed job safety analyses. Now consider subjective metrics, such as tone of a supervisor's complaints, degree of mid-level involvement in a root-cause analysis, feedback on corrective actions or trend patterns. The site manager needs to focus on the objective metrics. And s/he needs to know both.

4) Teach One Message

One site manager stated, "My goal is not to have safety police but to have teachers. It's hard to teach one message to the masses. It requires repetition. But teaching ‘safety first' is our primary focus. Because we have such a large site, we need to conduct 2,000 to 3,000 observations per month at this project site. Those data are used to fine tune training, recommend areas for improvement, and force all site associates and contractors to have a frank discussion about safety. Each observation helps us teach one message to the teams."

5) Create Pride

Paul, a regional manufacturing manager responsible for five sites in the Americas, said, "I want to hear how we are going to keep our program from becoming stale. Safety may not be the most appealing topic to all employees. Our goal is to create pride. We need banners from every crew. We need to recognize and applaud the safest crews. The crew of the month deserves to park close to the gate. We need to celebrate safe work hours. And we need to create pride in different ways every month."

Show Your Competence

I will close with a true story. A young safety leader was transferred to a new project in New Jersey. He said, "Doug, I'm the sixth safety manager in this seat within 4 years. How do I survive? How do I deal with this site manager? He has a reputation for intimidating everyone, especially the safety managers."

I asked him basic coaching questions such as, "What do you value? What does the site manager value most? What can you say or do to satisfy the site manager's expectations? How will you know if you are doing a capable job?" Once again, pause to reflect. These may be good questions to reread and answer.

My client modified his behavior and completed the job some 18 months later. In short, he 1) showed his competence and 2) shared many solutions. Along the way he must have applied the five suggestions above.

So, a coaching question to leave you with is: How are you showing your competence and solutions with your site manager? Contact me at www.action-learning.com and share your answers.

Doug Gray, PCC, is founder and president of Action Learning Associates Inc. (www.action-learning.com). Gray is an executive coach who helps safety leaders develop their competence. He can be reached at (704) 895-6479.

Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges several contributors to this article: Jeff Breuning, Wayne Watson, Bob Brooks, Dennis Earman, Charles Slater, Randy Whetsel, Mike Jeffrey, Joelle McGehee and Keith Moss.